Many college students in La. to pay more in fees in 2017-18

BATON ROUGE - Regardless of what happens with TOPS, students in the University of Louisiana system will likely pay more in fees in the 2017-18 school year.

It will cost $212.36 more per semester at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, a 4.5 percent hike that should net the school an additional $7 million.

Two of the schools in the University of Louisiana system - Grambling State and UNO, will not hike fees.

The fee increases were approved Friday. TOPS does not cover student fees.

A day earlier, LSU’s governing board approved more than $15 million in boosted fees across five of its campuses. The most sizable increase, to raise $14 million for pay raises and other expenses, will hit students at the LSU flagship campus in Baton Rouge. All students there will pay $270 more per semester for the 2017-18 school year.

Louisiana colleges and universities were about to lose their ability to hike fees on June 30. But lawmakers agreed to continue the authority to set and modify fees until mid-2020. Gov. John Bel Edwards announced earlier this week that he had signed the bill into law.